Youthful interest

Born in a fishing village on the rugged coastline of Fujian's Lianjiang county, Liu developed a keen interest in the yellow croaker at a young age while helping his father on the sea.

In 1964, in a feat that was rare for a rural resident at the time, Liu was admitted to the Shanghai Fisheries College, majoring in fishery resources. When he graduated in 1971, he was appointed as a data collector in Lianjiang and was responsible for locating fish resources.

He was glad to help his home fleet land huge catches through information he collected from fishermen and marine dealers.

The joy did not last long. In 1973, over 3,500 pairs of motorized sailboats gathered in the waters off the Zhoushan Archipelago in the eastern province of Zhejiang to catch overwintering yellow croakers.

That winter, the boats caught 250,000 metric tons of the fish, more than twice the normal number in China. No schools of the fish ever came to the area again.

Liu became worried about the ever-dwindling numbers of yellow croakers. In 1979, his fears were exacerbated when ships from several coastal provinces ravaged the waters of Sandu Bay, a natural spawning ground for the fish, and caught 60,000 tons.

In about 1980, with fish numbers severely depleted, the survival of the species was in question.

Liu became determined to save the fish through captive breeding, even though most aquaculturists considered it an impossible task, given that the yellow croaker is a migratory species that lives in mid-range and deep waters.

"It was painful to witness the disappearance of the croaking fish, and I was probably like a snowflake in an avalanche," Liu said. "I felt an obligation to prevent their extinction."